


Arts and Crafts and Other Stuff

by BerthaMason



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, F/M, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, They are definitely attracted to each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23099461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerthaMason/pseuds/BerthaMason
Summary: ON HIATUSBen Solo is the owner of a local craft and art supply store that seems to have lost his creativity until Rey Nadie walks through the door. Rey is new to the city and has a tendency to visit art supply stores on a daily basis, which wouldn't be a problem with Ben if she wasn't always dressed up as someone from a movie he's never watched.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 9





	1. Princess Leia

**Author's Note:**

> In this universe, Star Wars exists, but the sequel trilogy does not.

Ben Solo glanced out of the window of his empty store to make sure there were no potential customers about to walk in. Tuesdays were never busy, especially at ten in the morning, and he really had to use the restroom. He hurried to the back of the store where the restrooms were and unbuttoned his pants as swiftly as he could. Just then, he heard the chime of the door. He rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself. _Of course._ He listened for the bell that was at the register for anyone that needed assistance, but he didn’t hear anything, so he figured he would be fine taking his time. After washing his hands and making a mental note to replace the soap in the bathroom by the end of the week, he pushed past the door into the hallway and tried to listen for the customer that walked in. 

Off in the distance he heard shuffling and decided to follow it. He peeked into every aisle along the way to check if anyone else was there, but as he got closer to the fabrics he heard faint humming. As he got closer to the source of the sound, he could finally make out the tune; it was the main theme from Star Wars. He turned the corner and examined the customer that was facing the giant wall of fabrics, a girl in a long white flowing gown, and two large buns on the side of her head. For a moment, Ben thought he imagined the girl. It was mid-September, so Halloween was out of the question, and it was very seldom one saw a cosplay of Princess Leia out of the context of conventions and Halloween. 

There was actually someone dressed as Princess Leia Organa in his store humming a John Williams score. 

Before he could say anything, the girl turned and jumped back at the sight of him. He didn’t take offense considering his six foot four frame easily startled most people. “Jesus, you scared me,” she laughed and held a hand to her chest as if to catch her breath. She looked him up and down, noticing his height as well as his smock. “I was just about to look for you - well, I mean, not you you exactly. Someone who works here.” 

“What can I do for you, your highness?” Ben cautiously stepped forward, anticipating she would need help reaching a roll of fabric that was high up on the shelf. She had a look of confusion for a moment before reaching up to one of the buns on her head and patting it with a smile. “Ahhh, yes. The princess to a completely obliterated planet would like the gold beaded lace one up there,” she pointed out and then reached for a roll of teal linen that had been placed against the shelf.

Ben grabbed the step stool that was off to the side and retrieved the roll for her. When he stepped back down, the princess was laying out the teal linen on the table. 

“Do people cut their own fabric?”

“Most people who come here prefer cutting their own fabric, but I can do it for you if you’d like.”

“Oh well, if you could do it for me, please and thank you. Four yards of the linen and then...hmm maybe a yard of the gold, no wait, let’s do two yards of the gold.” 

Ben didn’t say anything more. He just nodded and got to work cutting the fabric. The linen was easy to measure out and cut, but the gold beaded lace would take a bit more patience and steadiness. He glanced up every so often to catch her examining his face which caused a strong feeling of insecurity that he had not felt in a long time, and he was glad that his black hair was long enough to cover his ears, the part of his body he was least fond of. Along with the self-consciousness, he could feel a bubbling sense of anger at the fact that a stranger dressed so ridiculously could make him feel that way. He shifted his weight from one leg to another and repositioned his arm to steady himself. That was enough to shake her out of her seemingly judgemental stare and shift her focus to more fabric. 

There was a flood of voices that rushed through Ben’s mind, and none of them were positive. He thought of almost every embarrassing thing that had happened to him and that somehow the stranger was able to see all of it and judge him. Like the time in high school when he tried defending his mother and her political campaign against some kid who was bad-mouthing her and ended up with a broken nose; when his prom date ditched him right before walking into the gymnasium; or when he lost a debate in his political science class in college and his professor openly mocked how disappointed his mother must be in him. Ben tried not to blame the world on how he acted, but his experiences certainly weren’t any help in softening his personality. At one point in time, he found solace in creating art, but that had long passed. 

“Here you go.” He said tersely. 

“Thank you,” she smiled at him. 

On the off chance that she did have mind-reading abilities, she didn’t show any change in how she looked at him. 

“Are you looking for anything else in particular, or was this it,” he said, holding up the folded fabrics for her to grab. 

“Oh, umm, strands of beads?”

“Beads will be with the buttons and other attachments in the aisle right over here.”

Ben didn’t look back to make sure she was following him, but every couple of steps, he heard her take a deep breath and knew that she was close enough. He knew to keep his usual long strides short considering how well under six feet she seemed to be, but some part of him didn’t want her anywhere near him. 

“I’ll be upfront if you have any questions.” He rushed out and began walking away before she even had the chance to catch up. 

Rey Nadie watched as he disappeared down the aisle and stayed thinking about his strange behavior for another minute before being distracted by the long aisle of beads in front of her. She knew she had been staring a little too intensely at him as he cut the fabric, but she was sure he hadn’t noticed. After twenty minutes of walking up and down the aisle deciding which strands of beads and jewels she liked best for her next sewing project, she decided she might as well get acquainted with the rest of the store. She always made good use of every local craft store she lived near and being new to Takoanda, Rey thought this particular store looked cozy enough to possibly call home. 

There were aisles of fake flowers and pots, notebooks and canvas, and various oil and acrylic paints that she admired even though she was only confident in her drawing ability enough to draw stick figures. The paints were beautiful to her all the same. 

Rey was trying to memorize the layout of the store, but the closer she got to the register, the more self-conscious she found herself becoming. She found herself adjusting her hair every time she knew she was in his line of vision. Rey was very comfortable in her outfits, whether she was dressed like Princess Leia or Holly Golightly, so the fact that she was feeling shy made her even more nervous. Eventually, she made her way to the corner of the store and found a set of large black tables. She let her hand glide over the cool surface and imagined what they could possibly be used for. She looked around and found an old calendar of events hanging on the wall, but it was from the previous year. 

_ Scrapbooking, how nice. Painting like Bob Ross, I bet that was fun. Using charcoal in your art, educational. Make your own stamps sounds like a good idea.  _

Before she got any further down the old calendar, a couple of paintings off to the side caught her eye. There were paintings of what looked like alien planets and far off galaxies, but there was one particular painting of deep space using brilliant blues and rich purples that took her breath away. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw a painting so beautiful. She could feel the cold atmosphere radiating off of the canvas, and there was something about the brush strokes that called out to her; they were long strokes that she sensed held a lot of patient rage. Rey felt an aching emptiness settling into her stomach the longer she stared at it. She wished she could reach into it and back out to the painter, feeling their hand stroke the brush along the fibers of the canvas. Compelled to try to do just that, she put the various supplies that had been collected onto the table behind her and extended her arm out with a long and low sigh.

The store was quiet except for the occasional rustling of items, which made Ben look up from his sketchpad every single time. He hadn’t been sketching anything in particular before he went to the restroom; there were a couple of roughly drawn circles on the page, but when he got back to the register, he had had a sudden jolt of inspiration, and before he knew it, he was staring at a scene of planets, with a figure standing in the foreground. He looked up to try to see the girl, but she was walking somewhere outside of his view. He hadn’t watched Star Wars in a while, but with the last name Solo, one becomes acquainted with the story enough to remember iconic imagery. He turned the figure into a silhouette of Leia and drew the Millenium falcon from memory. Ben knew the ship wasn’t exactly movie accurate, but he wasn’t submitting the sketch for any awards. It was just a good exercise of the talent he could feel rusting over. When he was satisfied enough with the sketch he had in front of him, he noticed how quiet the store had been for a couple of minutes and decided to look around for the princess. 

Ben walked along the aisles, past the buttons and beads, and past the paints to the end of the store. He saw her standing in front of his painting with her arm outstretched in front of her. He wondered what she was doing and silently took a couple of steps closer to her. It wasn’t until he had closed about two feet of distance between them that he realized that this would be the second time within an hour that he would have snuck up on her and thought that wouldn’t make a great second impression. He stopped and took a moment to collect himself and then cleared his throat. 

She didn’t get startled this time, though, as she turned to face him. It was almost as if he had caught her doing something completely inappropriate, and she felt similarly.

Ben waited for her to explain herself, but Rey was waiting for him to explain himself, so they both stood there for a minute, staring at each other. And while one minute might not sound like a long time, it is very long when you are staring into the eyes of a stranger in silence. 

“I just uhhhh just wanted to see if you needed any help,” Ben stated hesitantly after another moment. 

“Thank you, no. I think I found everything I needed for today,” Rey grabbed her things off of the table and waited to be led back to the front of the store. She was prepared to match his long strides from before, but he was walking at a much slower pace. “Hey, I noticed an event calendar up on the wall but it’s for last year, do you have one for this year?”

Rey watched as he ran his hand through his raven black hair. The same hand that she intently watched cutting the fabric. _Stop it. You are not an animal._ Meanwhile, Ben was thinking of a non-depressing way to answer her question. 

“No.”

_ Smooth Ben, Smooth.  _

“Oh...do you guys not have anything going on?”

“No. Well, I mean yeah, we don’t have anything going on.”

“Why not?” 

“That is a good question,” Ben walked behind the counter and tapped the screen of his tablet awake to start ringing the items up “the owner used to organize that stuff all of the time, but he just stopped.”

“Out of the blue?” Rey continued to pry, hoping the smile on her face would get him to talk more. 

“...out of the blue.” 

Rey could sense the reluctance in his voice to elaborate, so she kept her questions to herself for the moment further. She just had to warm him up with a compliment or something. Usually, people made conversations about whatever outfit she was wearing, but he didn’t seem too intrigued, and smiling at him didn’t seem to be helping. She thought about complimenting his hair, or commenting on how much taller he was than her, or the rich timbre in his voice that she found undeniably unique, but she decided on looking around the store for something else to comment on. While her eyes roamed the counter, she spotted the sketchbook that was seemingly shoved off to the side and noticed the beautiful scene that had been drawn. There were several planets and a figure that she couldn’t make out from her angle. She leaned to the side a little bit to get a better view, but she could tell the man was trying to use his large frame to conceal it. 

“Did you just draw that?” Rey pointed to the sketchbook to clarify what she was referring to. 

Ben knew what she was referring to, but he followed the direction of her hand anyways to the sketchbook he had tried to push out of sight casually. He picked it up and nodded. It’s not like you drew her in specific, you’ll be fine. It’s not creepy. 

“May I?” Rey held out her hand and waited for any visual or audible sign of approval. “I guess,” he said, handing her the book, “there’s not much to look at.”

“Are you kidding?” 

“It’s just a rough sketch.”

“I wish I could rough sketch like this. I’m pretty much cursed in the drawing department. I can draw one hell of a stick figure with a top hat smoking a pipe, though.”

Ben let out a chuckle at the thought. He finished ringing up the items and placed them in a bag behind the counter. He was going to blurt out her total, but she wasn’t paying any attention to him anymore, she was staring at his sketch...with a smile on her face. He didn’t know exactly what she was thinking, but it was highly unlikely it was anything bad.

_ I wonder if he’d let me keep it if I asked.  _

After a moment, Rey finally looked up at him, and he told her the total. “Ahhh yes, of course,” she said, putting down the sketchbook and scrambling for her wallet, which was tucked in behind the belt on her waist, “I almost forgot.” 

“You can have it,” Ben Blurted out as he swiped her card. 

“What?”

“The uh the sketch. You can have it if you want. Only if you want it.” 

“Really!” Rey smiled as wide as she could, the fluttering in her chest increasing with every passing moment in the man’s presence. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I mean your costume was the inspiration.”

“Aww, thank you so much.” Almost as quickly as Ben had said it, Rey responded, and it wasn’t until a few moments had passed that she processed what he had said. 

_ Costume? Don’t be daft Rey; he doesn’t mean anything by it. Well, then what’s the problem in correcting him. It will be fine. It’s fine. He’ll probably find it cute. Correct him.  _

“Oh...umm it’s not really a costume.” 

“I’m sorry?” Ben was confused at the slight change in tone, and while he had heard and understood what she had said at the basic level, he didn’t really understand why she said that. Unfortunately for Ben and Rey, Ben had accidentally pulled on a thread that their very stubborn personalities were not going to ignore. 

“My clothes are not a costume.” Rey was still smiling, but the mere mention of the word ‘costume’ when referring to her clothes always annoyed her, and it was a hard emotion to hide, stranger or not. 

“You’re dressed up exactly like Princess Leia,” Ben said matter-of-factly. 

“So?”

Ben was beyond confused at the thought of someone being mad at him for saying they were wearing a costume. Especially someone who was clearly in a costume. 

“You’re dressed up as someone from a popular movie franchise. What else would you call what you’re wearing?” There was now a clearly condescending tone to his voice, which he hoped she was picking up. 

“I don’t know; clothes sounds about right though.”

“No. I’m wearing clothes,” Ben gestured to his favorite plaid shirt that he was glad he put on that morning, “you are wearing a costume.”

“I work hard on hand making and handpicking the pieces I wear to show appreciation to characters, movies, or works of literature that I love, and I really don’t like it being reduced to something you would also call a cheap piece of fabric you’d get at Party City or something to wear on Halloween.”

Ben laughed at the absurdity of what he had just heard. 

_ She’s got to be fucking joking.  _

"I am not joking.” Rey’s smile had faded entirely by now. 

“What are you a costume snob? Do you think you’re better than all the little kids who get their costumes from Party City?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying-”

“I don’t know, kind of sounds like what you’re saying.”

“Look, you don’t have to be a rude, ok. I just wanted to clarify that what I do is different.” 

“So because you’re delusional, that means I’m being rude?” 

“You laughed in my face like I made a joke! You know what,” Rey held her hands up as if to signal surrender, “I’m done with this conversation, and I am done with you.” She grabbed her bag of fabrics that had been on the counter between them and turned on her heel to leave. 

“And you can keep your shitty drawing you scruffy-looking Nerf herder,“ Rey yelled out before walking through the door. 

_ Scruffy-looking? _

Ben couldn’t believe that he had just been yelled at by Princess Leia. Ben Solo. A Solo yelled at by Princess Leia. This would make a great story in the future, but at that moment all he could feel was his chest getting warm, and he didn’t know if it was because he had just been yelled at by a complete stranger, or because he was afraid she’d never step foot in his store again.


	2. Marty McFly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me you built a time machine...out of a DeLorean?”

"Are you sure you weren't hallucinating," Armitage Hux, Ben's friend from college, asked as he took another sip of coke. Ben arranged a get together with his only friends from college, but Hux's wife was late, and Ben regretted not waiting for her to arrive before telling the story. 

Ben rolled his eyes. 

"Of course I'm sure. I'm not crazy."  He was only sure because he reviewed the security footage. When he wasn't satisfied with that, he had Gwen Phasma, his only employee, double-check to make sure the princess that had visited his store two days prior was not a figment of his imagination. 

It was Hux's turn to roll his eyes. 

"Well then, if you're sure, that is the funniest shit I have ever heard. The irony, man! That's the perfect story to tell at parties. Strike that; you'll probably make it super depressing. I'll say it for you, and I'll add my amazing flourish's for optimal dramatic effect." Hux laughed and took another bite of pizza. 

"That's great, great. Thank you so much for laughing," Ben balled up the napkin he had been using and threw it at Hux, who exaggerated a look of betrayal in response, "I was hoping you'd give me some helpful advice."

"Well, if you wanted helpful advice, you should have waited till I got here." Rose Tico walked up with a grin and winked at them. 

Ben, Hux, and Rose had met in their freshman year government class; Human Rights Theories, and Practices. Ben had befriended Rose first since she recognized him from pictures with his family at old campaign rallies. She had been kind enough not to mention anything at first, but when the topic was brought up during one of their study sessions, she was happy to divulge all the information she knew on his mother, the Senator. Ben had always been attracted to her passionate personality and her cheerful disposition. Rose always had a smile on her face, even when she was in the middle of a debate. Her passion would ignite, and a professor would have to remind her that they were in a classroom and not a senate hearing, which always made Ben chuckle. Hux, though not as cheery as Rose but just as passionate, shared more of Ben's sarcastic and darker sense of humor. During the third week of class, Hux and Rose duked it out during a discussion on the social contract theory, and Ben found it very entertaining. He befriended Hux after that, but Rose had banned him from their study sessions. It wasn't until midterms that she softened her opinion enough to allow him to study with her and Ben. Ben had a front-row view of their relationship since that fateful afternoon, and he had been happy to see his first two real friends fall in love and eventually get married after graduation.

Rose leaned into Ben for a hug first and kissed the top of his head. "Hey there grumpy pants." Ben reached his long arm around the waist of his tiny friend and leaned into the hug. "Hey there Teaks."

"And you," She shuffled over to Hux and gave him a kiss on his lips, which he had just wiped the grease off of. Rose took off her jacket and settled into the booth next to Hux. "Sorry I'm late. It is so nice finally being with my two handsome guys after a long day being trapped with grumpy and greying councilmen." 

"Wow is that ageism I detect?" Hux asked sarcastically, and they all laughed. 

"Don't even get me started."

Hux waved his white napkin in the air. 

"I wouldn't dare...especially since I'd like to finish my dinner in peace." He said the last part as quickly as he could while shoving another slice of pizza into his mouth. Rose punched his arm playfully, and they all laughed again. 

Rose grabbed the personal pizza that had been waiting for her. "So, what horrible advice was Hux giving you?"

"He didn't give me any advice. That's the problem. Your husband is simply laughing at me."

Rose put her hands up, "hey, he was your friend before he was my husband."

" _He_ is right here. And I'm just trying to inject a little humor into the situation because it seems to have put him in an even worse mood."

"Aww, what happened that was so bad?" 

Ben looked over at Hux, who seemed eager to try out his apparently fantastic dramatic retelling of events, so Ben nodded, signaling Hux to take the reigns. Hux smiled and, with a surprisingly high recall of events, told Rose about the princess. Ben sat quietly, eating his pizza and watching Rose's facial expression turn from attentive to curious, then from curious to amusement, finally erupting in a burst of laughter that filled the small restaurant causing a few people to look their direction. Ben just shook his head and tried to stifle his smile. 

"I'm glad you both find this so amusing," Ben leaned forward and whispered as if he was divulging a diabolical secret, "she called me scruffy looking."

Rose and Hux were still laughing, but Ben's comment brought their volume back up above everyone else's. Ben waited patiently as he finished another slice of pizza and took a drink of his coke. He looked over behind the counter where the beer tap was and thought about buying one.

_ What I need is whiskey.  _

Ben let out an exaggerated sigh and looked at his watchless wrist as if he was checking the time. "Are you two finished?"

"I'm sorry Ben," Rose reached out her hand letting out a residual chuckle, "you know we're not laughing at you-"

"Oh, I am," Hux interrupted. 

"Shut up. I am not laughing at you. It's just a great story. Someone in a Princess Leia costume, oh wait, _outfit_ , yelled at you and insulted you by quoting the greatest sequel of all time. That's pretty awesome." Rose was trying to be positive, but she knew him well enough to know there was something that he had yet to get off of his chest. 

Ben took a second to think through the events for what seemed like the thousandth time.  _ It's not like you're dying. You're pathetic, and the only two people who have ever wanted to be your friend are trying to cheer you up. Cheer up.  _ He looked into her eyes and then to Hux, who had stopped laughing. "Ben," Rose quietly pleaded as she reached out and placed her hand on top of his, "tell me what's wrong."

"This is going to sound stupid, but I just have this gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that's made me uneasy since Tuesday."

"Why do you think it's left you uneasy? Hux didn't leave anything out, did he?"

"No, it's...I don't even know. It's so hard to explain. I don't think she's ever going to come back," Ben exhaled. 

"Ahhhhh," Hux flashed a mischievous smile, "I know what this is about! You're just horny. When was the last time you got some- ow!" before he could continue, he was smacked again in the arm by Rose. "What? Come on! The guy is wound so tight. I'm surprised he didn't blow a load when you kissed him."

Rose was successful in not laughing at Hux's comment about Ben being tightly wound, but it was not the right time or place. Ben, on the other hand, thought it was the first almost helpful thing Hux had said all night, plus, he was used to that kind of comment from his friend, so he chuckled knowing it was meant in jest. 

"I don't know. That hadn't even crossed my mind, but maybe you're right."

"Please don't give him the satisfaction of saying that," Rose blurted before her husband could say something playfully narcissistic, "obviously, there's something else, some deeper emotional well that you aren't tapping into." 

"Yes, listen to Rose. She took two psychology classes in college." Hux quipped with his arm up to defend his body from any more blows. 

"First of all, I minored in psychology, so it was definitely more than two classes. Second of all, I have women's intuition, or as I like to call it, common sense."

Hux held up a finger to pause the conversation until he finished sipping his drink. "We've already discussed this, women's intuition is a myth." 

Rose smiled, intentionally bringing up the topic of conversation that they had debated a couple of days prior. "Sweetie, I'm so glad you brought that up. I've been doing some reading since our last discussion about this very topic, and while 'women's intuition' may not be as mystical as it sounds, there is a difference between men and women's ability to read facial cues. There is research done on nonverbal communication, and women by far show a clear advantage of reading the subtly of facial cues linked to human emotion. And you can only blame your fellow man because it most likely evolved from women historically given little social power. All we had to do to fill our time was; observe people all day, analyze the facial and body cues given by potential mates, and eventually decode the needs of our children."

Ben just leaned back in amusement as Hux scrambled to defend his position, but Rose, as always, was prepared to take down her opponent with a smile.

Five minutes passed with Ben listening intently to the discussion. But on occasion, he found his mind wandering to the girl, her hazel eyes, wide toothy smile, and the cadence of her voice. Hux snapped his finger, having already called out to Ben twice to no avail. 

"Sorry about that," Rose spoke once she had Ben's attention again, "While I think we have both made some interesting points, some more correct than the other," Rose eyed Hux with a smirk, "I think there are more important topics at hand. Where did I leave off?"

They all thought for a couple of seconds before Ben was able to remember, "It was something about an untapped emotional well."

"Yes, thank you. So usually people think about the most stressful parts of their day or life while they're lying in bed and that can manifest in some possibly symbolic dreams. Have you had any weird dreams?"

Ben thought for a moment. "Yeah...I mean, it's not particularly weird, but for the past two days, I've been dreaming that I go back in time and close the store for the day and spend the afternoon reading by the lake."

"Do you go back with some blue mimic blood, aTardis, or DeLorean style?" Hux wondered out loud. 

"I don't know what any of that is supposed to mean, but no. I just turn my clock black until it's Tuesday, and then spend the day alone at the lake."

"How do you know you're going back to Tuesday? Maybe the dream is unrelated. Have you watched any sci-fi movies recently?" Rose asked with a genuine look of concern. 

"Of course not." Ben snorted. It was a lie. He had googled the insult that the princess hurled at him and spent Tuesday night watching Empire Strikes Back. But there was no time travel in it that he could recall, so there was no need to bring it up. 

"Do you think that's what you'd want if it were possible?" Rose continued. 

"I can't decide if I'd go back in time to stop her from coming into the store at all or just redo the conversation. Either way... I wanted to hang out with you guys so I wouldn't spend another night dwelling on the past."

Rose opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Hux. "No way," He said with a stunned look on his face. After a second of confused silence, Rose seemed to have noticed whatever it was he was referring to and smiled in disbelief, leaving Ben even more curious. 

"Someone just walked in wearing a red shirt, white button-up, jean jacket, and an orange vest." Rose beamed. Ben had his back to the door, so he was not able to see who she was talking about. 

"So?" He finally asked when they didn't explain it to him. 

"So!" Rose exclaimed, "You were just talking about time travel, and Marty McFly walks in! That's amazing."

"Marty McFly?"

"Un-fucking-believable." Hux sighed in disappointment and motioned for Rose to continue explaining. 

"The DeLorean and Marty McFly are from Back to the Future! The time-traveling classic that we have tried to get you to watch for years. He's a pop culture icon!"

Ben felt a sense of dread wash over him. 

_ A pop culture icon? Just turn around. Turn around and look at her.  _

Of course, there was no way for Ben to be sure if the person they were describing was the princess from the other day, but he could feel it, and that was enough for him to muster the courage to turn his head.

It was her. 

She was standing in line listening to the spiel the worker was giving her about customizing her pizza. She looked completely different. Her face was the same, but her vibrant brown hair was no longer in two buns over her ears, it was blown out and landed right above her shoulders. She looked like she had just stepped out of an 80's movie. 

Ben turned quickly, and Rose noticed the subtle panic that had overcome him. It took her only a moment more to piece together what was going on. Hux was still rambling on about Back to the Future when Rose nudged Ben's leg from under the table to get his attention. She raised her eyebrows at him and looked over the girl again and then back to him. Ben simply nodded. 

"Wow, she really does take costumes seriously," Rose whispered to herself and turned her attention back to the girl. Hux and Rose were looking at her so intently that Ben tried to sink into his seat in embarrassment, but there's only so much sinking a man over six feet can do. 

Rey had heard great things about 'The Pizza Press.' It was a local pizzeria themed around newspapers. Each pizza had the name of a different national newspaper, and you could even customize your own. Being fond of pizza, Rey thought it was the perfect way to end her day. She walked up to the counter and smiled in awe of all the toppings and fixings to put on the pizza. 

"Hi, Welcome to the pizza press. Have you dined with us before?" The man behind the counter asked.

"No, uh, this is my first time here."

"Great, welcome! So behind me is our signature pizzas, The Tribune is my personal favorite, or you can publish your own. With the publish your own, you can choose the dough, base, cheese, meats, and vegetables. Anything you like!"

Rey looked over the extensive menu that was plastered on the wall and finally decided on the man's suggestion, The Tribune. The man smiled at her choice and proceeded to prepare the pizza. 

"I love your look, by the way. Marty McFly, right?" He asked as he sprinkled on the cheese. 

"Yes, do you like Back to the Future?" Rey always felt joy when someone was able to recognize the character she was replicating. 

They continued talking while the worker finished her pizza and put it in the oven. She walked over to the register to pay for her dinner, taking in the atmosphere of the cozy space. It wasn't too busy at the moment, but there was enough conversation going on that mixed together, making it hard to hear anyone's conversation unless you were next to them. She noticed two sets of eyes on her from the other side of the small barrier that divided the people ordering food from the seating. 

"Will that be all?"

"What percent is your whiskey?" 

"Let me check," he walked over to the shelf of alcohol that hung above the beer tap, "It's forty."

"I'll take a double shot, thank you."

He laughed, "I don't think a customer has ever asked me that. What name should I put in for the order?

"How about McFly." She said, handing him her debit card. 

The man grinned and typed the request happily. Rey looked around and examined the old newspaper clippings plastered all over the restaurant and spotted a row of typewriters beside the soda fountain. She looked over to the seating area and decided where she was going to sit. She grabbed the drink and receipt that was placed on the counter and took a swig before walking to a booth and pulling out a book from her grey corduroy tote bag. 

After making it through three pages of Jane Eyre, Rey heard her name called out from the counter. She placed her book face down on the table and walked up to claim the pizza from a female worker. 

"Enjoy."

"Thank you."

As she was walking back to her table, Rey noticed the same two sets of eyes looking at her. It was a couple, or at least that's what Rey assumed since the ginger-haired man had one arm around the much smaller woman, and they were sitting alone.

"Marty McFly," the man called out to her, "great cosplay. We love those movies."

_ They look harmless enough.  _

Rey shuffled over closer to them with her pizza still in hand and noticed the three drinks on the table and the jacket that was stuffed into the empty side of the booth. 

"Yeah, your outfit looks great. Was it for any special occasion?" The sitting woman asked. 

"No, this is just how I dress." Rey patted her vest with pride

"You dress like Marty McFly?" The man questioned with a smile on his face.

"I mean sometimes, but I take inspiration from a lot of characters I love, so sometimes it's Claire from The Breakfast Club or even The Dude from The Big Lebowski, which is always a comfy choice." 

"Is there any rhyme or reason to when you wear what?"

"Not really, it's usually just what I'm feeling on the day. But I have been doing a lot of sci-fi characters lately. I was Captain Kirk yesterday and oh - I was princess Leia the day before-" 

Rey was cut off by the man spitting his drink out in surprise. She watched as the woman smacked his arm and moved the food out of the way. "What the hell, Hux!" 

Rey couldn't help giggling at the spectacle unfolding before her, but she was still confused as to what was so humorous. 

_ What could I have possibly said that was so funny? _

Hux wiped his face and the table before moving the pizzas to the side. He thought about the odds of there being another girl out there in the town who would dress up like Leia for a casual day out and concluded that this was the girl from Ben's story. 

"What are the odds?"

"Excuse me?" Rey could feel her stomach growl with hunger, but she was more interested in the man's behavior. 

"Hux, she's hungry, and her food is getting cold. Sorry to bother you," the woman said, facing Rey with another kind smile, "don't worry about him."

Hux hunched up from his seat, careful not to hit his head on the light hanging down over the table. "No no no no no, hey look why don't you sit with us? You're not here with anyone, are you?" He held out his hand out to the empty side of the booth and smiled. 

Rey gave a cautious glance to the woman who was rolling her eyes. 

_ What are the chances they're trying to get someone to come home with them for some weird sex thing? _

"Come on," Hux said encouragingly, "our friend doesn't like talking about movies, so you can join us and try to persuade him to try to watch Back to the Future."

"Honey, I'm sure she'd like to enjoy her dinner in peace." 

_ I guess they're harmless. How else are you going to meet people in this town if you don't socialize? This is an unusual circumstance, though. Ah to hell with it.  _

Rey nodded in agreement and placed her pizza on the table and turned to grab her belongings. Book and drink in hand, Rey headed to the couple and caught the woman whispering with an angry look on her face, but the man was snickering and typing something on his phone. 

_ Are these red flags I'm ignoring? What's the worst that can happen?  _

Intending to place the jacket off to the side, Rey held onto it, enjoying the warmth of it against her lap. "Are you sure whoever is sitting here won't mind?" She wondered aloud. 

"Ben? He'll be fine." Hux couldn't contain his grin as he looked back to the bathroom doors.

Rey looked down at her pizza that was still steaming and dug right in. She felt a weird tension between the three of them and tried to ease into it. 

"I'm Rey, by the way." 

"Hi, Rey. I'm Rose, and this doofus is my husband, Hux." 

"That's a pretty unique name, Hux."

"That's my last name. My name's Armitage, but that isn't as fun as Hux, don't you think?"

Rose saw Hux texting Ben again but couldn't intervene since her phone was dead. She reached out for it, but Hux quickly put it in his pocket. "Give me your phone. Mine is dead." Rose demanded. 

Hux squinted his eyes. "Ohhhhhh, sorry, my phone just died too." 

The door to the bathroom squeaked open, and all three of them turned their attention to the tall figure striding out. 

_ Is that the guy from the store? No fucking way.  _

Ben looked like a deer in headlights as he spotted the girl sitting in the booth across from his friends. He wanted to high tail it out of the store, but they were all looking at him. Rose had an apologetic look on her face and mouthed that she was sorry, but Hux had a mischievous smile and looked like he was about to keel over with laughter. 

_ Hux, you piece of shit. _

Ben slowly made his way to the table and looked down at the person who was occupying his seat. He spotted his jacket in her lap and noticed how she was fidgeting with the zipper. 

"Benny boy! This is Rey. You know Rey, Ben has never seen Back to the Future. He's not a big fan of science fiction. " Hux was trying to prompt a conversation that would lead back to the incident. For a moment, Rey felt like a cornered rabbit surrounded by grey wolves, but for some reason, the thought of anyone disliking science fiction fueled her with enough courage to start talking. 

"You don't like science fiction? Why not?" She stared at without malice, but her intense curiosity was enough to catch Ben off guard again. He was sure she was going to get up and leave without saying anything. 

Ben shifted on his feet and glanced at his friends who were watching him closely. "Ummmm, I don't know I've just never been a fan."

"He's an artist," Hux added, "so he doesn't have time for movies of any kind. He owns an art supply store, but his full-time job is brooding around like Vincent van Gogh."

It would have surprised Rey that the man owned the art store if she hadn't gone back to the store later the next day dressed as Captain Kirk. Rey had waited for him to leave and grabbed a random picture frame that was displayed near the entrance of the store. She met the gorgeous blonde of amazonian height who was standing behind the register and placed the frame on the counter as if she was in a spy movie covertly exchanging government secrets. Rey asked the hours of the store and if there were a lot of employees. Gwen informed her that the only people who worked at the store were herself and the boss, Ben. Rey sped out with her new picture frame and a headache at the thought of having to find another art store further away from her apartment. 

Rey moved over to the furthest edge of the bench, making room for Ben to sit. "Sorry, here, you can sit."

"Are you umm - are you sure?" Ben managed to stutter. Rey didn't say anything; she simply nodded her head and continued to fidget with the zipper of his jacket below the table. While Ben adjusted himself back into the booth, he extended his long leg and kicked Hux. Hux winced but didn't retaliate, knowing he deserved it for the provocation. 

_ They must know about the incident at the store. That's why he freaked out when I mentioned Leia, Right? Is this some sort of cruel joke on him or me? _

Silence overcame the table as the four of them exchanged glances. Hux was the only one smiling. 

Rose waited for Rey to finish chewing on the slice of pizza she had started eating before she broke the silence. "So, Rey, where are you from?"

"The middle of nowhere, i.e., Jakku."

Rose was not familiar with the town, and it showed. "Where is that?"

Ben sighed, "it's in the middle of nowhere." His response had made Rey giggle, which sent a shiver down his spine. He felt surprisingly proud of himself. 

_ Okay...maybe she doesn't hate me. _

"It's a long and boring story. Trust me. I just moved here though so that's exciting." 

"How long are you planning on staying?" Hux wondered aloud on behalf of his friend. 

"Well, I just signed a twelve-month lease, so at least twelve months." Rey bit off another piece of pizza, raising her shoulders up and down in content. It was then that Hux took it upon himself to share his whole life story. Rey sighed in relief at not having to give any more details about her 'origin story' as Hux referred to it. She listened intently when Hux got to his college years and Ben and Rose were introduced into his story. Of course, Rose and Ben would chime in with any corrections or clarifications they felt necessary. 

"I do not hate movies," Ben informed the table, cutting off Hux before he could say anything further on the matter, "watching movies is not high on my list of thing's I like to do, but I don't hate them. I just prefer reading."

"Do you have a favorite movie?" It was the first time Rey had said anything in the last ten minutes. She had elected to be a quiet observer of the three friends, eating her pizza between the laughs that Hux coaxed out of her with his thematic storytelling. 

Rose giggled because she knew the answer, but knew that Ben would never divulge that information willingly. She only knew because she walked in on him watching it years ago. 

"Come on," Rey goaded him, "one of my favorites is this movie called Upgrade about-"

"You've seen Upgrade!" Hux exclaimed, "I've never met anyone who's watched it, except for Rose, but she only watched it because of me."

Rey was disappointed in not being able to hear Ben's answer, but from the look on his face, he wasn't going to answer anyway. She was, however, excited to finally be able to talk to someone about one of her favorite movies. As Hux and Rey droned on happily without Rose and Ben, Rose watched how the corner of Ben's mouth lifted into the smallest smile every time Rey laughed or talked over Hux when they disagreed about a directing choice and the social commentary the director was trying to make. 

Ben could feel his heartbeat pound harder than usual, and he was deathly afraid that everyone could hear it. 

_ Why is my jacket still in her lap? Does she realize that it's mine? Would I be a complete asshole if I asked for it back? I'm not going to put it on, so asking for it would seem rude. She already hates me. Doesn't she? She wouldn't still be sitting here if she did. _

The conversation at the table never dulled, but it became apparent to everyone that Ben and Rey were not directly speaking with each other. After the unanswered question from Ben, Rey only commented on things Rose or Hux brought up and ate her pizza every time Ben spoke. Whenever Rey asked a general question to the table, Ben never replied. 

***

Almost two hours had passed, and the number of people in the restaurant dwindled little by little, and everyone's pizza was long gone. It wasn't until Rey yawned that she checked her phone for the time. 

_ 10:06. Shit. I need to get home.  _

Rose followed suit and checked the time. "Babe, I think it's time for us to go. I've got an early day tomorrow." She gulped down the rest of her drink and started to collect her things to leave. Seeing his opportunity, Hux sprang up from his seat and took the first chance he had to get Ben and Rey alone. "Oh, can you help me get the thing from the front," he insisted, guiding Rose away from the table and around the divider to the register before she could protest. 

It was suddenly silent at the table, and Rey watched as Ben tidied up the area. She watched his hands carefully and followed every vein from the tips of his fingers to his forearms which were visible from rolling up his sleeves. 

_ Stop looking at his hands, you creep. _

It took all of her energy to look away and see that Hux and Rose were still at the register trying their best to make it seem like they were not eavesdropping. Ben cleared his throat, which startled Rey. He nodded his head as if asking permission to gather the trash that was in front of her. She complied and pushed the small pan toward him. Ben put all of the trash on the stacked pans and stood up to throw it away. Rey darted out of the booth as quickly as she could once Ben's back was to her intending to leave.

"Oh hey!" Rey heard Rose call out just as she was about to open the door to the outside. "Rey, wait a second." 

Rey gave a sheepish smile to Rose and Hux, who were walking toward her. "I know we didn't get to talk too much about anything but Hux and movies, but it was so lovely meeting you. Let me give you my number, and maybe we can get together some other time. I'd love to see your other outfits!" 

"That would be nice. It was so nice meeting you two." Rey grinned as she reached into her pocket and handed Rose the phone. She hadn't looked up, but she felt the exact moment that Ben had walked up to them and could feel the heat start to rise in her face.  "I spend my days talking about laws written hundreds of years ago, so this was a nice change of pace." Hux placed his hand over his wife's shoulder. "And as you could probably tell, it's a lot of fun talking to that tree over there," he said, pointing to Ben, who was staring down at her. 

"Here you go," Rose beamed as she handed the phone back, "we'll talk soon. And you," she said, turning to Ben, "thank you for inviting us out. We'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Hux moved in to hug his friend from the left side, but since he was still holding onto Rose, she was able to wrap her free arm around Ben's right side. Rey felt a pang of sadness, looking at the display of friendship and thought of the people in her life who she could do that with. 

_ No one.  _

Hux seized the moment to get Ben and Rey alone again since they hadn't said anything to each other the first time. He scooted Rose out of the door first giving them a final wave goodbye. 

There was a moment of silence between them where they looked everywhere but at each other. "Dirty Dancing," Ben finally answered. 

Rey tilted her head, finally looking at him, confused as to what he said. "What?"

"My favorite movie. It's Dirty Dancing." Ben affirmed a bit more loudly.

There was the smallest, almost undetectable, smile on her face when she processed what was said, and quickly walked out before he could say anything else. 

He could have easily called out to her again or caught up to her before she got to the parking lot, but for the second time in one week, Ben watched as she hurried out the door, this time with his jacket still tucked tightly in her arm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do we like the dynamic between Ben and his friends? I hope Hux didn't come off too dickish. They really are all great friends but he's trying to push Ben out of his comfort zone XD


End file.
